Environmental Ethics and Land Management ENVR E-120 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Environmental Ethics and Land Management ENVR E-120 http://courses.dce.harvard.edu/~envre120 The Terrain and Main Components of Debate Timothy C. Weiskel Session 4 7 October 2008 Harvard University Extension School Fall Semester 2008

Remember, collectively our species has changed its realized econiche over time. Agriculture represents a new means of capturing solar energy and this leads to ==> a population ‘spurt’ in growth. As does the ‘energy spurt’ provided by the industrial revolution & fossil fuels...

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Because of its mobile character, the calculus of the domestic sphere in foraging societies is based on the “limit of portability.” Both production and reproduction are undertaken with regard to the overriding concern for the limit of portability. Tim Weiskel - 5

Because of its mobile character, the calculus of the domestic sphere in foraging societies is based on the “limit of portability.” Both production and reproduction are undertaken with regard to the overriding concern for the limit of portability. Don’t produce or acquire anything more than you can carry. Tim Weiskel - 6

Cultural Logic Changes with Agriculture The logic of production and reproduction changes dramatically with the emergence of sedentary agriculture. Tim Weiskel - 7

Cultural Logic Changes with Agriculture The logic of production and reproduction changes dramatically with the emergence of sedentary agriculture. Land becomes valued, needs to be worked with labor, the more labor the better, especially if it needs to be defended, the more defenses are needed, which require more agricultural surplus to support and therefore require people to acquire more land upon which to grow more food, etc. etc. Tim Weiskel - 8

Cultural Logic Changes with Agriculture The logic of production and reproduction changes dramatically with the emergence of sedentary agriculture. Land becomes valued, needs to be worked with labor, the more labor the better, especially if it needs to be defended, the more defenses are needed, which require more agricultural surplus to support and therefore require people to acquire more land upon which to grow more food, etc. etc. This is an ever escalating “positive feedback” loop - an escalating “vicious circle.” Tim Weiskel - 9

More is better…. However much is produced, with new storage technology and desiccated grains, it is possible to accumulate ever more -- multi-annual surpluses. Record keeping allows for inter-generational inheritance of both surpluses and debts. The larger one’s family is, the greater one’s domestic labor force one can command. Unskilled, repetitive and boring work needs to be done and women and children can be pressed into service. Tim Weiskel - 10

Growth is good…. The positive function of child labor as a tractable labor force in the newly organized system combined with the sedentary settlement pattern gives a whole new dynamic to the domestic domain. Tim Weiskel - 11

Growth is good…. The positive function of child labor as a tractable labor force in the newly organized system combined with the sedentary settlement pattern gives a whole new dynamic to the domestic domain. Production is geared up to expand reproduction, which in turn fuels further production with the application of child labor. Tim Weiskel - 12

Growth is good…. The positive function of child labor as a tractable labor force in the newly organized system combined with the sedentary settlement pattern gives a whole new dynamic to the domestic domain. Production is geared up to expand reproduction, which in turn fuels further production with the application of child labor. Growth becomes a “good thing” as opposed to something that ought to be avoided. Tim Weiskel - 13

Neolithic Ethnocentrism We need, however, to be aware of our “neolithic ethnocentrism.” Tim Weiskel - 14

Neolithic Ethnocentrism We need, however, to be aware of our “neolithic ethnocentrism.” Moreover we must watch very carefully how the collective human econiche shifts with agriculture. Tim Weiskel - 15

Neolithic Ethnocentrism We need, however, to be aware of our “neolithic ethnocentrism.” Moreover we must watch very carefully how the collective human econiche shifts with agriculture. New forms of symbiosis have emerged. Tim Weiskel - 16

Neolithic Ethnocentrism We need, however, to be aware of our “neolithic ethnocentrism.” Moreover we must watch very carefully how the collective human econiche shifts with agriculture. New forms of symbiosis have emerged. We have co-evolved with our domesticates. Tim Weiskel - 17

Neolithic Ethnocentrism We need, however, to be aware of our “neolithic ethnocentrism.” Moreover we must watch very carefully how the collective human econiche shifts with agriculture. New forms of symbiosis have emerged. We have co-evolved with our domesticates. We have gained many things in the process AND we have lost many things as well…. Tim Weiskel - 18

We need to remember that evolution is NOT a morality play… In fact, to survive we will need to overcome our ‘homonid ethnocentrism’– that is, our anthropocentrism… Evolution is NOT a story of “progress” – whatever that may be. It about progression – a movement of one state to another . Evolution cannot tell you what is right – only what is left. This illusion has proved to be one of the most erroneous and persistent formulations of our self-understanding that has ever existed….. Tim Weiskel - 19

Both our Anthropocentric and our Neolithic Bias Contains Some Important Implicit Theories in our Ethical Discourse A Theory of Community A Theory of System A Theory of Authority A Theory of Change A Theory of Agency A Theory of Time Tim Weiskel - 20

Try to imagine a different “niche sensibility”… Let’s try to imagine for a moment what a difference the neolithic makes… Aldo Leopold gives us a clue. How do we look at the “wild”? At the “sown”? Prairie Birthday

“How could a weed be a book?....” “There are idle spots on any farm…” “The erasure of a human subspecies is largely painless to us, if we know little enough about it…” “We grieve only for what we know…”

“How could a weed be a book?....” “Few grieved when the last buffalo left Wisconsin, and few will grieve when the last silphium follows him to the never, What should we take into account in never land.” our ethical reasoning? For what should we grieve?

Our culture has trained us to think of social evolution as if it were a progressive process, leading to refinement and improvement of the human condition. In fact, in many respects, this is not so. To understand our environmental circumstance, we will need to overcome this neolithic bias in our outlook, especially if we hope to survive much longer.

We should, perhaps, stand back a little further and ask the same question… What should we take into account in our ethical reasoning? For what should we grieve? Tim Weiskel - 25

Let’s listen more closely this time… Aldo Leopold The Forager - (A “gatherer’s” reflections).

Let’s listen more closely this time… Aldo Leopold The Forager - (A “hunter’s” reflections).

Let’s listen more closely this time… Aldo Leopold His observations can serve to highlight for us, at least in an anecdotal manner, just how different our sensibilities are from those of foragers – the hunter/gatherers which constituted roughly 99% of human history.

Some Simple Truths… As Aldo Leopold senses, agriculturalists live in a biologically impoverished world of their own making. They have chosen to derive their energy from a narrow range of grasses, tubers and trees. The typical “niche-width” of the agriculturalist is considerably narrower than that of the forager. Further, they have not achieved any measure of “independence” from nature. On the contrary they are even more dependent upon the vicissitudes of rainfall, temperature and extreme weather. Much of the agriculturalist's social structure is designed to compensate for this greater degree of ecosystemic vulnerability. We will need to overcome the biases we have derived from thinking that our “social structure” is “natural.” It is not. It has been devised to compensate for the relative stability we have lost in the transition to dependence upon agriculture .

How can we overcome our ‘Neolitic Ethnocentrism? The First Step is to Recognize the Implicit Theories in our Ethical Discourse Our (common) Theory of Community Our (common) Theory of System Our (common) Theory of Authority Our (common) Theory of Change Our (common) Theory of Agency Our (common) Theory of Time Tim Weiskel - 30